New Jersey and Florida account for almost half of the 50 U.S. counties whose housing markets are most vulnerable to the economic effects of the coronavirus, an Attom Data Solutions report said.
Attom ranked 483 counties across the country based on the percentage of housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in the fourth quarter, the number of underwater properties in each county and the percentage of local wages required to pay for major homeownership expenses.
Thirty-six of the top 50 most vulnerable counties had median home prices in the $160,000-to-$300,000 range, the report noted.
Of the 10 most vulnerable counties, six are in New Jersey, including Sussex at No. 1 and Warren at No. 2.
"It looks like the Northeast is more at risk than other areas," Todd Teta, Attom's chief product officer, said in a press release. "As we head into the spring home buying season, the next few months will reveal how severe the impact will be."
Among the New Jersey counties that would be most affected, five are in the New York metropolitan area: Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Middlesex and Union. However, of the four counties in New York that Attom considered to be most vulnerable, only Rockland was in proximity to New York City.
Robb Lanham is the chief sales officer for HUB International, focusing specifically on the Private Client practice.
He is responsible for the personal insurance growth initiatives across North America and has developed strategic planning for new client acquisition for individuals, as well as for national and international wealth management firms.
With over 25 years of dynamic leadership, Jagadish Kundu has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the insurance and financial services industry. From building domain solutions to driving digital transformation, his visionary approach has reshaped the landscape. Jagadish's achievements include pioneering the establishment of an insurance delivery center, managing a P&L and advising CXOs while leading a 2000-strong IT delivery team. As the global head, Jagadish has previously overseen a strategic business unit focused on implementation of COTS products in insurance & retirements industry and managed a $220 million USD global P&L. His expertise spans product development, product implementation, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like GenAI and data analytics.
In this market, everyone wants leads to turn into sales even faster. But smart companies know that when spending slows, establishing a relationship is even more important than in boom times—and know that investing in content .
For New York City proper, all five boroughs were in the middle of the list: Staten Island was ranked 161, Queens was 271, Manhattan at 312, Brooklyn at 320 and the Bronx was 327.
Most of the Florida counties considered at risk are in the northern and central portions of the state. But Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, is also on that list.
There were four counties in the metro Chicago area on the list were Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will in Illinois. Cook County, which includes Chicago proper, is ranked 53rd most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the only California county on the 50 most vulnerable list is Shasta. Los Angeles County was No. 276. The Bay Area counties were also in the bottom half of the list.
At the other end of the spectrum, 10 of the counties where the housing market is least vulnerable to the coronavirus are in Texas. Seven are in Wisconsin and there are five in Colorado.
King County in Washington, where Seattle is located, was the 20th least vulnerable county according to Attom.
